lowman



(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 1 3 J. LOWM AN & J. HOWARD. MACHINE FOR GRINDING OORKS.

No. 372,629. Patented Nov. 1,- 1887.

( Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. LOWMAN & J. HOWARD.

MACHINE FOR GRINDING GORKS No. 372,629. Patented NOV.'1', 1887.

Pholo'LflhugrAphar. Washington, 0. a

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. J. LOWMAN &1 J. HOWARD.

MACHINE FOR GRINDING GORKS.

No. 372,629. Patented Nov. 1, 1887.

ilNrrnn STATES ATENT rg ce.

JOHN LOWMAN, OF GAMBERXVELL, COUNTY OF SURREY, AND JOHN HOlVAR-D, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR GRINDING CORKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,629, dated November 1, 1887.

(No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that we, JOHN LOWMAN, of 188 Albany Road, Camberwell, in the county of Surrey, England, engineer, and JOHN HOW-- ARD, of the firm of Fisher Howard 8: Sons, of 73 Minorics, in the city of London, England, cork-merchants, subjects ofthe Queen ofGreat Britain, have invented certain new and useful Machines for Grinding Corks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machinery for manufacturing corks from pieces of cork technically known as squares or quarters.

The square or quarter to be ground is placed upon a table or platform between two holdinginstruments, one of which is pressed forward by a spiral spring on aspindleto hold the cork firmly against the opposite. holder and carry it up against one or other of the face-plates as follows: The holders are carried by a frame or oscillating braek et mounted upon eenters,upon which it can be moved to and fro by a suitable handle to place the cork in the holder against the face of either of the face-plates, the glass, sand, or other grinding-surface on one ofsuch face-plates being finer than the other, to give a final finished surface to the cork. The spindle of the springholder is mounted in bearings on the oscillating frame, and is capable of sliding longitudinally therein, and has a handle on one end to impart rotary motion to the cork whilebeing ground. A cam or shaped eccentric, the latter for oval corks, is mounted upon the spring-holder spindle and bears against a wheel carried by a fixed standard or arm, by which means any desired shape can be given to the cork in the operation ofgrinding. The table upon which the square is first placed acts as an adjustable gage for placing the cork properly to center, and the whole of the apparatus is mounted upon a central adjustable support, so that it can be adjusted to the height required. XV hen taper corks are required to be made in the machine previously described, the grinding-disks are placed at a suitable angle to each other to produce the taper of the cork, as required, by the means hereinafter de-. scribed.

In order that our invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into practice,

We will now describe the drawings hereto annexed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a front elevation, Fig. 2 a transverse section on the line 00 00 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 a plan, of a machine for manufacturing corks in accordance with our invention.

a a are two head-stocks pivotally secured to a base, (Z by bolts a, and on which fast and loose pulleys aa are mounted upon axes a (L 011 the inner ends of which the revolving disks a" a are fixed, faced with sand, glass, or emery paper, or other suitable grindingsurface.

b b are holdirig-instruments, between the ends of which the square of cork is held while the corners are ground off. The holder 7) consists of a spindle capable of sliding and revolving in' bearings b I), carried by and bolted to the frame a, which moves upon centers a c on the bar d, mounted upon the adjustable support d and fixed bed (1. The spring b" acts to force out the holder 1), (when the spindle is drawn back,) so as to close upon the end of the square or block of cork laid by hand upon the adjustable table a on the sup port e, bolted to the bar d,to take and hold the cork firmly against the end of the rotating holder 2). The spindle and holder 1) receive rotary motion by means of the crank-handle b, and c is a handle by which the frame ccan be moved to and fro to cause it to oscillate upon the centers 0 0, so as to place the revolving cork against the face of either of the disks a" a", as required.

b is a cam or shaped eccentric mounted upon the spindle b. This cam, which corresponds in contour with the cross-section of the cork when ground, revolves in contact with one of the friction-rollersf, carried by the fixed standards f on the bar d.

The operation of our device is as follows: YVhen it isdesired to turn out plain cylindrical corks, the square is clamped between the holders Z) and b, as will be obvious, and the frame 0 inclined by means of handle 0 until the square comesin contact with the rapidly-rotating disk. The square is then turned by handle b, first slowly, to presentits corners one by one to the disk, and then rapidly in order to finish it and add a smooth exterior surface.

WVhen corks of the shape of a truncated cone are to be formed, the bolts a are loosened and frames at a turned on said bolts, so that the disks will stand at the desired angle to each other, after which said bolts are tightened and the corks ground as above.

When corks having an oblong or other shaped section are to be turned, the cam b (which in the above operations was round) is,

replaced by one (not shown) having the desired section, and the operation carried out as described. In each case, when the square has been ground down to the size desired, the cam or eccentric b will strike one of the rollersf and prevent further grinding, after which one slow revolution of the ground square will remove all projections and leave it afinished cork.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is v 1. In a machine forgrinding corks, the'combination, with the rotating disk a and the friction-rollerf, supported at one side thereof and having its periphery in the same plane with the face of said disk, of the rotary holder 1), the horizontal shaft b, in line with the axis of said holder, a chuck at one end of said shaft for holding the cork against said holder, a crank at the other end for turning the shaft, a rocking frame, 0, in which said shaft and holder are journaled, and a cam, b, on said shaftopposite said friction-roller f, said cam having the contour desired for the finished cork, substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine for grinding corks, the com- 3 bination, with the rotating disk at, of the base d*, d, and d, the support'e, secured to said part d, the adjustable table 6, attached to said support, the rocking frame a, pivoted to said part d, and a clutch for said cork supported by said frame normally above said table 6, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machine for'grinding corks, the combination of two grinding-disks oppositely disposed and rotating in vertical planes, the grinding-surface of one disk being finer than that of the other, a rocking frame supported between said disks, a holder j ournaled in said frame, a shaft also journaled in said frame opposite said holder, a chuck at one end of said shaft for clamping the cork against said holder, and a crank at the other end for turning the shaft, substantially as set forth.

. i J. LOWMAN. J. HOWARD.

Witnesses:

H. BIRHBEOK, u 34 Southampton Buildings, London, W. C.

THoMAs LAKE, 17 Gracechurch Street, London, E. O. 

